


Conflict

by ElisaPhoenix



Series: Supreme Family Chaos [71]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Canon Divergence - Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Canon Temporary Character Death, Heavy Angst, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt Tony, Insecure Stephen Strange, M/M, Mama Bear Stephen Strange, Natasha Romanov Feels, Other, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Scott Lang is a Good Bro, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark/Stephen Strange parenting Peter Parker | Supremefamily | Strange Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-04-24 13:59:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19174732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElisaPhoenix/pseuds/ElisaPhoenix
Summary: **CONTAINS SPOILERS**Stephen's conflicting emotions between being Sorcerer Supreme and Mama Bear.**Chapter 4 minorly revised!!**





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, crap summary. I know. I really couldnt think of anything.
> 
> On a separate note, in case you didn't see it in the story before this, Spider-Baby has been updated.

Peter swallows thickly under Tony's intense stare.

"I thought I sent you home!"  
"Well..." The teen starts.  
"No! I don't want to hear it!" Peter starts rambling about the distance to get back home and Tony throws his arms up. "And now I gotta hear it."  
"You asked me to help Mom and I mean...its kind of your fault that I'm here."  
Both Iron Man and Levi look up at him with a ' you did not just say that' expression and Tony points at the teen. "What did you just say?"  
"I-I take that back...and now I'm here in space-"  
"Yeah. Right where I didn't want you to be!" The engineer steps into the teen's space and looks down at him. "This is a one way ticket, you hear me?! Don't pretend you thought this through!"  
"I did think this through! I can't sit back at home while the only family I have left disappears into space! What if you never came back?!"

The mechanic studies him and exhales loudly as he turns away. He couldn't really fault the kid's reasoning. Peter was terrified of losing him and Stephen and probably came to do what he could to make sure they all got back home safe...and if something did happen, he would know.

"Come on. We got a situation." The two walk over to the ledge and Tony points down below as Peter crouches. "See them down there? Mom's in trouble. What's your plan?"  
"Uh...oh! Remember that really old movie Aliens?"  
"First of all that movie isn't that old. Second, just saying it like that is not helping your case. You think I'm mad? Once Stephen finds out, Mama Bear will be out for the whole trip."  
"We gotta save him first."  
Tony rolls his eyes. "The plan Underoos."  
"Right. So you blow a hole in the ship, the alien dude will be sucked out into space, and then you seal the hole back up. I'll grab Mom before he gets sucked out too."  
"That's insane. Let's do it." His helmet forms back over his head and he points to Peter. "On my signal."

It was a good thing Peter was accustomed to fighting alongside Tony, because the billionaire's idea of a signal was more like 'you should have been jumping in ten seconds ago'. So he basically did jump in ten seconds earlier and it was still barely enough to catch Stephen with his webs before the doctor followed the alien out of the ship. With the help of the extra appendages in his suit, Peter vaults them to a safer level and Tony seals the large hole as Levi returns to its master's shoulders. Stephen groans as he gets to his feet and it doesn't take him long to notice Peter's presence.

"No. No, no. _You're_ supposed to be on a field trip to MOMA right now!" Stephen looks toward the ship's controls where Tony planted himself. "Why is he here?"  
"Oh you know, I thought this could be a nice family trip." The engineer says non-chalantly.  
"Tony!"  
"I...I'd rather be with you guys and _know_ if something happens, than be told by strangers." Peter answers quietly.

Stephen looks at him in absolute silence with an expression so bland, that Peter had no idea what he was thinking. His eyes didn't give much away either, just the fact that he was looking for any injuries. The teen had nothing more than bruises from the earlier attack on Tony back on Earth, but he wasn't about to admit that. Mama Bear would suffocate him with coddling.

The sorcerer eventually accepts the adults unfortunate turn of events and turns away from Peter with a heavy sigh as he walks over to Tony. "We gotta turn this ship around."  
Tony scoffs. "Yeah. Easier said than done."  
Stephen sighs. "I need to protect the stone."  
"The stone?!" The billionaire asks with genuine surprise. "What about our kid?! Last time I checked you signed those adoption papers too!"  
The doctor walks over to his husband and stops at his side, lowering his head and his voice. "Tony...you and I both know this is bigger than our family."  
The other man curses quietly. "Well our family is in a flying donut, billions of miles from Earth, with no back up."  
Peter holds up his hand from farther behind them. "I'm back up."  
Tony turns to him and points at the teen. " _No_ , you're a stowaway. The adults are talking."

Peter mumbles something under his breath before climbing a nearby wall to explore the ship, and Tony ignores the teen to turn his attention back to Stephen.

"The ship is self-correcting its course. The thing's on autopilot."  
"Can we control it? Fly us home?" Stephen asks. Tony remains silent. "Tony."  
"Yeah?"  
"Can you get us home?"  
"Yeah, I heard you." He hesitates. "I'm not so sure we should."  
The sorcerer narrows his eyes. "Look, under no circumstances can we bring the Time Stone to Thanos _or_ put our son in danger! I don't think you understand what's at stake here."  
Tony looks at him with disbelief. "No! It's _you_ who doesn't understand! Thanos has been inside my head for six years since he sent an army to New York and now he's back!" He almost swallows back his next words. "And I don't know what to do. I don't know if fighting on their turf or ours is the better plan, but at least with theirs, they won't be expecting it. So I say we take the fight to him."  
Stephen stares at him for a few moments. "Alright. We go to him...but you have to understand, if it comes to saving you, or Peter, or the Time Stone..." 'I have to let you die' goes unsaid. "The universe depends on it."  
Tony sighs. "Just...promise that our kid is your second priority. I don't care about me. Keep Peter safe."  
The doctor's gaze softens. "Despite the hand dealt to us...he is still my cub. He will always be one of my top priorities. You both are."

Peter jumps down from the high ceiling and both men turn to look at him.

"Were you eavesdropping?" Tony asks.  
Peter shakes his head. "I just got back from looking around. The structure of this thing is so weird. It's defying the laws of physics!"  
The billionaire rolls his eyes as he walks over to the teen and knights him with his hand. "Whatever...you're an Avenger now."  
"Wait...seriously? Did I miss something?"  
"Universal war and all that fun jazz. Just promise to stay close to one of us."  
"Uh...okay."

Tony didn't miss the pained expression on Stephen's face. While Peter had gone on quite a few missions with the team, they were still trying to keep him out of as much trouble as possible. Making him an Avenger made it mandatory for him to help with anything and everything. Tony didn't like the idea either, but as Stephen said, the universe was in danger. Not just a city, or a state, or their planet. The whole damn universe.

He also didn't miss the conflicting emotions in his husband's (read: wife's) eyes. The man had a duty to protect the Time Stone as he was the Sorcerer Supreme, but he was also a Mama Bear. Someone who had a duty to protect his cub. Tony could tell that Stephen was hating his predicament. No one should ever have to choose an fancy rock over their child.

Tony _did_ understand though. If there was no universe, there was no Peter.

No more family.

He didn't hate Stephen for his priorities. It really was a deplorable situation.


	2. Chapter 2

The next few hours of hurtling through space were spent in relative quiet. Stephen made himself as comfortable as possible on some slabs of metal as Tony tinkered with something he found laying around, and at one point Peter joined the sorcerer and sprawled across his lap with a piece of alien tech of his own. The doctor leans his head back against another piece of metal, with the comforting reassurance of Peter's weight on him, not even caring that some parts of the teens suit were digging into his thigh. Stephen did notice the tech in the vigilante's hands spark on occasion though.

"You're going to--" Peter yelps quietly when the tech zaps him. "...hurt yourself." Stephen finishes lamely.  
Peter grins. "You think we can take some of this stuff home?"  
"I'm pretty sure I'll have to stop your father from taking the _whole ship_ back."  
"No need." Tony says from across the platform. "I don't think this rig has a self-park function. Underoos, come help. Now."

Peter rolls off of Stephen's lap and jumps to his feet in response, and the sorcerer stands and joins them at the steering gimbals. Tony suits up again to use the strength of his armor to control the mechanism with Peter, and the teen looks out the large window followed with 'Uh...we might wanna turn!' Peter repeats himself as they attempt to turn the ship, and Stephen, coming to the conclusion that they would _not_ land safely after partially crashing into a structure, conjures a shield around the trio.

What's left of the ship crashes onto the planet, throwing the adults off their feet (and possibly Peter but he was nowhere to be seen; Stephen hoped he hadn't been thrown off the ship) and the broken vessel settles with a groan. The shield fizzles away as the sorcerer moves to his feet and makes his way over to Tony, who was halfway to his feet, to help him back up.

"You alright?"  
"Yeah." Tony grunts with the effort it takes to get up. "That was close."  
Stephen nods in agreement as Peter webs down from the ceiling hanging upside down. "Let me just say, if aliens wind up implanting eggs in my chest or something..." Both parents turn to regard their son. "...and I eat one of you, I'm sorry."

 _Okay, no more alien movies for the cub_ Stephen notes to himself.

Tony points at the teen with annoyance. "I do not want another single pop culture reference out of you for the rest of the trip. Understand?"  
Peter waves his free hand wildly before gesturing behind himself. "I'm trying to say that something is coming."

The sorcerer had enough time to make another note to himself to tell his psychotic family to lead with the more important details, right before something rolled at their feet and exploded, sending all three off their feet again. He hits a rounded part of the wall, tumbles to the floor, and finds other people storming the ship when he looks up. 

Yay.

Stephen was barely on his feet before he had to conjure a shield to block the knives thrown at him by the one who yelled for Thanos. With a thought, he sends Levi to subdue the man and almost laughs when the cloak wraps itself around the guys head. Almost. It wouldn't be a good idea to anger these people any more. Stephen takes the chance to look around and find the other two fighting his duo, and narrows his eyes when the other man kicks Peter down. Thankfully the teen recovered quickly and jumped up into the rafters, but the man started to really test Stephen's patience when he shot at the vigilante.

Mama Bear was really fighting to get out now.

Then Mama Bear did come out when Peter lunged at his attacker and was immediately wrapped in an electrical rope. The teen yells out as the rope shocks him and Stephen rushes toward them as Tony frees himself from the magnet the main assailant placed on him and stomps on the greenish colored guy. Tony points one hand at the grounded attacker, and the other at the masked one holding Peter, and the sorcerer conjures a single shield as he joins the face off and Levi returns to his shoulders.

He waited though. The guy had a gun to his cub's head and he wasn't about to give him a reason to use it.

"Everybody stay where you are. Chill the eff out." The masked man shouts and then removes his mask before pointing his gun at Tony. "I'm gonna ask you this one time. Where is Gamora?"

Stephen blinks. Gamora? Who was that?

Tony seemed to read his mind and his helmet retracts. "Yeah. I'll do you one better. Who's Gamora?"  
Then the moron under Tony's foot opened his mouth. "I'll do _you_ one better. _Why_ is Gamora?

The Sorcerer Supreme couldn't believe his ears. These guys were a bunch of idiots. He didn't even want to know how bad the insect woman was that was watching the whole thing carefully. If Stephen had to be honest though, she looked like she could be an idiot too.

"Tell me where she is or I swear I'll French fry this little freak."  
Stephen opens his mouth but Tony beats him to the punch again. "Let's do it!" He shouts and ignores his husband's incredulous glance. "You shoot our kid and I'll blast him. Let's go!" The hand pointed at the one on the ground forms into a sort of shock cannon. "I wouldn't mind sicing my wife on you either. Mama Bear is scary."  
The guy holding Peter looked confused but kept his anger. "You're not going to tell me? That's fine. I'll just kill all three of you and I'll beat it out of Thanos myself!" Stephen's heart jumps to his throat when the gun is pressed right up against Peter's head. "Starting with you."

He couldn't take this anymore. These people obviously weren't with Thanos, so they weren't the true enemy. At least they wouldn't be as soon as this guy let his son go.

"Wait...Thanos?" Stephen questions. "All right, let me ask you this. What master do you serve?"  
Confusion was completely evident on the guys face now. "What master? Am I supposed to say Jesus?"

Tony and Stephen share a look that very obviously said 'Are you fucking kidding me?'

Tony looks back to the man and motions toward him. "You're from Earth."  
"I'm not from Earth, I'm from Missouri."

Stephen really wanted to smack his head against the wall. Just talking to this guy made him feel like his IQ was dropping...dramatically. His poor cub had to endure the stupid right in his ear. It was bad enough that Peter looked more confused than afraid. He had a gun at his head and he looked _bored_.

"Yeah, that's on Earth, dipshit." Tony says. "What are you hassling _us_ for?"  
Peter finally asked the question his parents were wondering. "So you're not with Thanos?"  
" _With_ Thanos? No. I'm here to kill him...he took my girl. Wait, who are you?" The guy asks. 

Something he probably should have in the first place but Stephen wasn't about to start a different argument. At least not until Peter was safe with him. Said teen's mask retracts, revealing an exasperated expression.

"We're the Avengers, man."

That was the comment that broke the ice. The other trio revealed that Thor had told them about the team, and when the other guy made a passing comment about the god not being that good-looking, Peter's nose scrunched up. It took a lot of willpower on both Tony's and Stephen's part not to smile about how adorable it looked.

Weapons were put away and Stephen dispelled the shield over his hand as they properly introduced themselves, and the sorcerer rolled his eyes when Peter and Quill bonded over having the same name. Leave it to their kid to befriend someone that was going to kill him not five minutes before. At this rate, he wouldn't be surprised if the teen won over Thanos with his puppy dog eyes. It was looking like a serious possibility.

Then again, Quill and his friends were idiots and that would be giving them too much credit.

"Hey Stark." Quill starts. "Didn't you say something about a wife?"  
Tony glances at him from his survey of the planet. "Oh...right." The billionaire motions toward Stephen who was currently checking Peter for wounds...again. Mama Bear really was out for this trip. "Him."  
Starlord looks between Stephen and Tony. "You guys are married? And Peter...?"  
"Our kid. Adopted him after his last remaining relative died."  
Drax looks at Tony curiously. "What's a Mama Bear?"  
"Something you never want to personally experience."  
"Strange is a guy right? Why do you call him your wife?" Quill asks.  
Tony pats his shoulder. "Inside joke Quill. He's my wife, Mama Bear, and Peter's mom."  
"And people think my team is weird."  
"Oh...you are. We're just a different kind of weird. A smarter weird."  
To Tony's surprise, Quill caught onto the jab. "Dude...did you just call us stupid?"  
"Your words. Not mine."  
"You're an asshole Stark. How are you married?"  
"My wife is an asshole too. He's just a little nicer about it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I love Quill and his team...but let's face it, everybody but Gamora are freaking idiots.


	3. Chapter 3

He viewed alternate timelines one after the other, and each one that followed was just as bad (if not worse) as the one before. Despite how bad the outcomes were though, it made him fall in love with Tony all over again. In so many alternate timelines, the man wouldn’t hesitate to take a hit meant for any of their teammates. Even the morons they were stuck with because Tony was that kind of person. He was snarky, sarcastic, and had an ego the size of Jupiter, but in the end he had a heart of gold.

Millions of timelines later, he _finally_ came across the fight they won and he jolts out of his trance with a loud gasp. He falls forward, expecting to hit the ground, but Tony was there to rush forward and catch him.

“You’re back. You’re alright.” Tony says quietly and Stephen responds with a shaky ‘Hi’.  
Peter looks at the sorcerer with a mixture of curiousity and worry. “Mom? What was that?”

Right. They had never seen him use the Time Stone like that before. 

Stephen takes a breath to collect himself and looks back at Tony. “I went forward in time to view alternate futures. To see all the possible outcomes of the coming conflict.”  
“How many did you see?” Quill asks.  
A lot. “Fourteen million six hundred and five.”  
Both Tony and Stephen ignore Peter’s muttered ‘holy crap’ as the billionaire asks the golden question. “How many did we win?”

Stephen stares at Tony for what seemed like forever.

Not enough, he wanted to say. Actually, he wished he could have just said _all of them_ , that as long as they gave it their all, they would come out of this triumphant…but it wasn’t true.

“One.”

 _One measly win_. Two actually, but one was far worse than the other. He still hated both outcomes. Part of him wanted to take his family and run, but the logical side told him it would be pointless. Thanos would find them no matter where they went and he didn’t need to see alternate timelines of running to know that. Those outcomes would probably be much worse.

“Okay…can you tell us anything?”  
“No.”  
“Figures. Didn’t hurt to ask.” Tony reaches out and cups the back of Stephen’s neck to gently massage the nape of it. “You okay now?”  
_Not anymore._ The sorcerer nods. “I just need to sit for a minute.”  
“Underoos, come sit with Mom for a few minutes. Make sure he doesn’t pass out.”  
“Tony, I’m fine.”  
“Humor me while I talk to the space freaks.”

Stephen releases a breathy chuckle and his husband gets up to take Quill, Drax, and Mantis further away, and Peter walks up to the sorcerer and sits next to him. The teen yelps in surprise when Levi acts on Stephen’s thoughts, lifting one end to wrap around him, and pulls him closer until he’s practically wedged in the doctor’s side. Stephen wraps an arm around his son’s shoulders and pulls him even closer into his chest, and rests his chin on top of Peter’s head.

“Your heart is pounding.”  
“You try living through fourteen million timelines.” Stephen smiles when he gets a short laugh from the vigilante. “I’ll be fine in a few minutes.”

Peter nods and relaxes into the embrace, and Stephen savors every moment he has with his son. Although he would have liked to have Tony with them as well, it was important that everyone knew what they were doing. He’d take what he could get with Thanos’s arrival on the horizon.  
________________________________

“Magic!” Peter punches Thanos and jumps into a portal, coming out of another and grabbing the titan’s shoulders to pull him down and kick him in the abdomen. “More magic!” He jumps into another portal again, this time coming out of another to kick Thanos in the head. “Magic with a kick!” Peter disappears through another portal and comes out another. “Magic with a—”  
Peter cries out when the titan grabs him by the throat and slams him into the ground with a snarl. “Insect!”

Thanos lifts him up and throws him at Stephen, sending both crashing to the ground, and Peter rolls into a painful stop against some debris as Tony flies in shooting missiles at their enemy. The titan harnesses the fire around him, shooting it back at the billionaire and sending him into some ruins, and Peter webs the titan’s arm and pulls on it to stop the flames. Thanos only yanked on the webs and punched the teen, knocking him out for a few moments…

…and effectively bringing out Mama Bear.

Stephen prepares the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, and when the titan subdues the blue cyborg that had crashed a ship into him and attacked, he throws the bands at the gauntlet covered arm and pulls. Everyone takes the opening to restrain Thanos and Stephen releases the bands to open a portal for Mantis above the titan, and then conjures them again when the alien woman pacifies the purple giant. Tony lands and starts working off the gauntlet before yelling for Peter and the teen releases his webs to help the billionaire.  
Quill ruined it after a few minutes. He lost his temper when the blue cyborg pointed out that Thanos took Gamora with him but only came back with the soul stone, and Tony’s attempt to placate the man had been for naught. Quill punched Thanos, loosening Mantis’s hold, and it was just enough time for the titan to get enough awareness back and grab the gauntlet back.

Peter was just a second away from success.

Thanos fought everyone off, and when he actually threw a moon at Tony, that was the final straw for Stephen. The sorcerer activates his suit and floats down to Thanos’s level and immediately conjures mystical bolts the titan unfortunately dodged, and Stephen deflects Thanos’s energy beam with an attempt to open the mirror dimension. It only gets broken and turned into an energy ball that gets thrown back at the sorcerer. With quick gestures, Stephen throws out a spell that turns the energy ball into thousands of butterflies (something he would of appreciated the beauty of if he weren’t in the middle of battle with a maniac; he’d have to remember that later to properly show Peter) and then clones himself while Thanos is distracted. 

With the same move he used in a Hydra mission all those months ago, he and his clones throw out their whips and restrain the titan, but Thanos uses the power of the reality stone to find Stephen’s true form and bring him forward and wrap his hand around his neck.

By the Vishanti, he and his family had some serious bad luck with being choked or strangled.

His suit, for once, held no protection against the titan’s stone-powered grip.

“You’re full of tricks, wizard.” Thanos grabs the Eye of Agamotto and Stephen groans when his grip tightens. “Yet you never once used your greatest weapon.” He crushes the amulet. “A fake. Like the suit you wear.” Thanos throws him across the barren field and the sorcerer passes out when he hits the ground.

When he came to, his heart jumped to his throat. Tony was being stabbed by his own blade and the titan was forcing him to sit on some debris. He grabs the top of the engineer’s head and leans forward to speak quietly to him. Stephen couldn’t hear what he was saying, but when Thanos stepped back and held up his gauntleted hand, Stephen stopped him.

When the titan’s attention turns to him, Stephen groans as he sits up against the metal next to him. “Spare his life…” Tony looks toward him with a look of mild disbelief mixed with pain from his wound. “…and I will give you the stone.”  
Thanos regards Stephen carefully. “No tricks.”  
Stephen shakes his head and Tony grunts out a, “Don’t.”

 _I’m so sorry._ Stephen felt his heart drop from his throat to his stomach as he holds up his hand and procures the Time Stone from its disguise as a star. With a trembling hand, he releases the stone to Thanos and the titan places it on the gauntlet when it lands in his hand.

“One to go.”

Small beams hit the titan and Quill flies toward him while continuing his attack, but Thanos simply activates the gauntlet and steps through a portal, leaving Starlord to crash to the ground where he was previously standing.

Quill groans and sits up with his gun out as his mask retracts. “Where is he?!”

He stands as Tony pulls out the knife in his side and applies a temporary spray to the gaping wound. The silence caused Quill to look at the married couple in terror.

“Did we just lose?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hate writing battle scenes. If its even halfway decent,that's because i sat and paused infinity war a lot so i could write it somewhat correctly.
> 
> Also, Dr. Strange seems to be seriously underrated. He is VERY powerful.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SERIOUS ANGST AND ENDGAME SPOILERS AHEAD!!
> 
> There is a time jump to this chapter.

_The space team had turned to dust right before his eyes. Which mean that Thanos had gotten all if the Infinity Stones and managed to snap._

_"Tony." Dread fills the engineer as he turns to look at his husband. "There was no other way, Love."_

_The engineer holds back his cry of despair when Stephen turns to dust and he felt his heart crack. One of his reasons to live was gone now._

_"Dad...I don't feel so good."_

_No! Not him too!_

_Tony turns to face Peter as the boy looks at his arms, both showing ash._

_"You're okay." The father tries to soothe. It was a lie though. Peter was probably feeling everything since his healing factor was trying so hard to keep him together. His son was suffering and Tony couldn't do a thing.  
"I-I don't...I don't know what's happening. I don't know..." Peter's knees buckle and he collapses into Tony's arms. "I don't want to go. I don't want to go. Please, Dad." The teen sobs as he continues to beg and they both fall to the ground where Peter's lower lip trembles and he looks up at his father.  "I'm sorry." He whispers._

_Tony's cracked heart absolutely shattered when his son faded, leaving nothing but dust in his hands. The engineer slowly sits up and holds his hands up to his mouth, letting his pain take over._

_Half the universe was gone, and it took his only two reasons to live with it._

Tony wakes with a sob caught in the back of his throat and tears streaming down his face. He had fallen asleep again. Ever since he got back home, he dreamt of that moment every time he closed his eyes.

So he tried not to sleep at all. If he did, it was not of his own volition. At first it started with his body forcing him to sleep. He would collapse from exhaustion at random moments, but when he did that in front of what remained of the Avengers, they kept a much closer eye on him. It was annoying. They locked away the alcohol, and made sure Tony got proper sleep. After he faked sleep and got back up to lock himself away in his lab about four times, someone had to sit in the room with him and make sure he actually slept.

At least when he did sleep and he humored them by eating something, they left him alone. Few people were kindly tolerated while he tinkered in his lab. Others got snark.

Carol was one Tony had mixed feelings about. She had saved him from dying in space and he was thankful for it, but at the same time he hated her for it. Tony _wanted_ to die out there. His family was dead. 

The others must have mentioned Stephen and Peter because she gave him a huge bubble of space unless interaction was necessary.

"Tony."  
The engineer wipes the evidence of tears from his face and looks over at Steve. "Cap."  
"You've been down here for a couple of days."  
"I just woke up from a nap so I slept...and I'm not hungry so your concern isn't necessary."

Tony stands, falters just a bit, and brushes off Steve's hand when he reaches out to steady him. The engineer pulls up some holograms and waves through them lazily until schematics for Stephen's suit, the Mystic Guardian, pops up on the transparent screen. 

"He wouldn't want this."  
Tony grits his teeth and looks back at the captain to glare at him. "It doesn't matter what he would or wouldn't want because he's _dead_. My husband and my kid are dead! The two people I would have done anything to protect and I couldn't even do that!" He steps closer to the super soldier until they're chest to chest. "Peter begged not to go and I couldn't do anything! You know what was worse than him fading in my arms though?! He apologized. _To me._ I couldn't even give him any kind of comfort before he was gone."  
Steve looks at him calmly. "It does matter what they would want."  
Tony tsks and moves back over to the hologram and swipes the suit schematics away. "Why are you here?"  
"I was starting to worry."  
"You lost that privilege after you shoved your shield into my chest."  
Steve frowns. "Tony...I thought we were past that. You let us live in the tower!"  
The engineer sighs heavily and drops his head. "I know...I know. It still fucking hurts though. I hate sleeping because them turning into dust torments me every time."

The two stand in silence as Tony waves through holograms and Steve eventually sits on the couch nearby and leans down against his legs.

"You really did love him."  
Tony's head snaps around to look at Steve, perplexed. "Of course I did! I still do! Do you not remember that I married him?"  
"Of course I remember."  
The engineer furrows his brows. "Then why the hell--" Realization dawns on him and he points at the soldier. "I am not a rebound for Barnes...and you are not a rebound for Stephen. He was the best thing that ever happened to me and that's saying a lot."  
"We never would have had a chance would we?"  
"No. You may care about me, but you also hurt me to protect Barnes. You care about him more. You love him."  
Steve stares at his hands and then looks up at Tony. "...I really am sorry for that."  
"I know." The billionaire responds quietly.

He had forgiven Steve a long time ago. Sure, he held a grudge against him for a couple of years, but after meeting Stephen and starting a relationship with the man, he imagined what he would do if the roles were reversed. Tony liked to think he would protect the sorcerer like Steve protected Bucky. He was still a little sore about the fact that Rogers knew about his parents deaths, but Stephen had spoken to him about mind control and convinced Tony it wasn't worth stewing over.

So he reached out and let the Rogue Avengers back to the tower, and apologies were given and accepted on both sides. It took time, but they eventually stopped walking on eggshells around each other.

"There's another reason I came down here." Steve says after ten minutes of silence.  
"Which is?" Tony asks as he grabs part of his suit and a screwdriver.  
"FRIDAY couldn't wake you up so she showed us some security footage of the gates to the compound."  
"Get to the point."  
"Scott was there. Apparently he was stuck in the Quantum Realm."  
Tony's screwdriver clangs loudly on the work bench when he drops it. "What?"  
"Time works differently there, or so he says."  
"Time travel may not be as far-fetched as we think." Tony mumbles.  
"What?"

Scott, thought to be one of the victims of the snap, was actually in the quantum realm. Was time travel really possible? If it was, could they reverse the damage Thanos caused?

Could he get his family back?

"Tony!" Steve gently shakes his shoulder and the engineer looks at him with renewed determination. "You have an idea."  
"I think we can get everyone back."  
"This is usually when I think you're insane and I make you go to bed, but after listening to Scott..."  
"Shut up and let me science."

Steve grins and salutes him as he backs out of the lab.

"I'll have Nat bring down food for you."

___________________

The pain was unbearable but Tony had snapped. Thanos and his army disappeared and he barely had enough strength in him to sit against a wall. Rhodey was the first to get to him. He didn't say anything but the sadness in his eyes would have hurt Tony if he wasn't already in excruciating pain. Breathing hurt.

Then Peter was suddenly there. 

"Dad...can you hear me?" The teen's eyes water as he moves closer. "It's Peter." He breathes shakily. "We won Dad...we won. You did it." Tears finally roll down his son's cheeks that he so desperately wants to wipe away. "I'm sorry, Dad."

Tony wanted to scream. _No! Don't be sorry!_ He should be the one to apologize. He knew he was dying and he was making Peter watch another parent die. 

He could do nothing though. He didn't have the strength. He could only watch as Peter was pulled away and Stephen took his place.

"Stephen..." Tony manages to whisper.  
The sorcerer smiles softly and places his hand over the arc reactor. "FRIDAY..."  
As if knowing what the doctor was asking for, the AI responds quietly. "Life functions critical."

The dying man looks into his husband's eyes. Azure eyes filled with sadness that he wished he wasn't the cause of. Stephen was smiling despite it all though. A final comfort for Tony.

"We'll be okay. You can rest now, Love."

That was all Tony needed to hear. His friends were safe. His family was alive. Peter still had Stephen. 

Mama Bear would take care of their cub.

With that comforting thought, Tony gives in to the beckoning darkness, with his lover's face being the last thing he sees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys...if you're still reading this...IT'S NOT THE END. There is more to come so try and hang in there!
> 
> I cried writing this so no I'm not heartless but it had to be done.
> 
> Blame my brother. He wanted this.


	5. Chapter 5

Peter hadn't said a word since the funeral and Stephen couldn't stand it. The teen was known to chatter endlessly about anything and everything, so the fact that he was completely silent was _wrong_. It also sent mixed signals because the sorcerer was pretty sure Peter blamed him for Tony's death, but his cub was glued to his side twenty-four seven. The only time Stephen got time to himself was bathroom trips and bedtime when he astral projected. 

Yes, Peter even slept in the same bed as him. His fear of losing a sixth parent was probably winning over whatever blame Peter held over him. Of course, Stephen was only assuming the blame. There hadn't been any evidence to prove it or otherwise.

It was a coping mechanism for Peter and really, there were far worse ways the teen could deal with his grief. If he needed to cling, then Stephen would let him cling. It gave him an excuse to slowly drag the boy out back into the world after a couple of months even though he wanted to just wrap him up and protect him from the world for the rest of their lives (Peter's life really; Stephen no longer aged). He had to give his son some semblance of normalcy though. If he gave into his grief as well, he and Peter would fall apart. So any grieving he did was when he was astral projecting and Peter was asleep.

Like now.

Almost every night he projected, he would go down to the lab and replay the message Tony had recorded for him. A hologram message. The only way he could see his husband anymore. It hurt every time he watched it but he _needed_ it.

"...never wanted him to go through it again. At least not for another twenty years." The hologram Tony chuckles sadly and Stephen turns his attention back to the message he's seen so many times already. "He still has you though. For as long as he lives...you know...unless someone manages to get you to croak." When Stephen first watched the message, his eyebrows shot up into his hairline at Tony's sentence. "Yeah, I know all about your immortality. Wong told on you. He's fun to pick on by the way. I can see why you keep him around."

Stephen snorts. Leave it to Tony to annoy the shit out of one of the sorcerer's very few friends (outside the Avengers of course). Wong never said anything though so either he didn't mind or he was respecting the fact that Tony was gone now and Stephen was suffering through his loss. He had actually taken over some of Stephen's duties as Sorcerer Supreme, ones that Masters could handle anyway, while Stephen took care of Peter, and never said anything when the doctor took his duties back on with the teen trailing behind him.

No one said anything. Not the masters or the apprentices, they all just carried on with their studies. Stephen was grateful the pitying looks were few and far between, and mostly directed at Peter.

"Just in case I don't get to say this when we bring you back..." Tony's hologram continues. "...I love you. You are one of the best things that ever happened to me. You and Peter. So you better take care of our kid. I left a message for him through Karen. Hopefully he's not too mad at me."

Stephen yells out in frustration, his astral form causing the power to fluctuate and the hologram of Tony disappears, ending the message halfway. Peter mad at Tony? Ludicrous. The boy was one wrong sentence away from completely shutting down and Stephen already felt like a failure. He had tried to get Peter to talk to him at the very least but he got nothing for his effort. He barely ate, and that was only because the sorcerer made him.

Stephen covers his tear-stricken face with his hands. "It should have been me. He wants you more, you stupid _idiot_. He blames me..."  
"That's not true."

The doctor jumps at the unexpected whisper and he turns his head to find Peter by the door. The first words his son spoke in months were to comfort _him_. He really was a failure.

"Peter...what are you doing awake?"  
"Had a dream...about Dad." The teen mumbles. "I couldn't go back to sleep and you wouldn't wake up. I thought..."

He thought what? That maybe he was in his astral form? If he didn't put himself in the physical realm, Peter wouldn't even be able to see him right now. The teen answered his question though and he swore he could feel his blood turn to ice.

"I thought you were gone too."  
"Oh Peter..." He reaches out, momentarily forgetting he can't physically touch Peter right now, and sighs. "Come on. Back to bed."

He motions the teen toward the lab door before returning to the astral realm, and then back to his body, and sits up just as Peter returns to the bedroom. The teen returns to his side of the bed and when the sorcerer reaches out this time, he actually touches brown curls and gently threads his hand through them. It was a soothing motion for both of them.

"I'm sorry for scaring you. Do you think you can go back to sleep now?"  
Peter shrugs. "As long as you don't leave again. Your heart slows down when you do."  
"I'll stay. I promise."

His son nods and lays back down, and then curls himself into Stephen's chest when the elder makes himself comfortable. The sorcerer smiles when Peter tucks his head under his chin and then Stephen resumes his previous motion of petting the boy's hair. They were both quick to fall back asleep and managed to get their first decent nights sleep in weeks until they were rudely awoken by Sam slamming the door open.

"Get up. We're having a literal pity party and attendance is mandatory. Especially you Strange. You and Tic-tac are going on an adventure."

Stephen sits up slowly and levels Falcon with his Mama Bear glare and is mildly impressed when Sam only falters a little before countering with a look of indifference. Apparently he needed to step up his game.

"Wilson..."  
"I'm serious. Wake up your cub. We got him donuts."

The sorcerer sighs after Sam grabs the door to close it behind him, and almost laughs when he hears his next words muffled beyond the door.

"Guys...I thought I was going to die."

So much for needing to step up his game. Mama Bear was still scary. Good.

Stephen reaches out and gently shakes Peter's shoulder. "Come on. I know you're awake."  
"What did Sam mean by adventure?" Peter asks carefully.  
"Who knows. He'll probably make me shrink or something."  
"I'm not changing out of my pajamas."  
"Oh good. I'm not either. Now, up. Comfort food awaits."

Peter sighs but rolls out of bed, following Stephen out of the guest room (neither could go into the master bedroom) and joins the team in the living room. For once, Stephen didn't have to make the teen eat, he dove into the donuts without needing to be prompted.

The sorcerer sits in a vacant armchair and rubs his eyes. "What kind of adventure are we talking about? Shrinking? _Growing?_ "  
"Time travel." Bucky states bluntly, causing Stephen to freeze.  
"Why?" He asks suspiciously.  
"We're getting Nat, Loki, and Tony back with your Time Stone." Clint says.  
Peter is the next to freeze but Stephen narrows his eyes. "I don't _have_ the Time Stone anymore you moron! It's been returned to its timeline!"  
"Actually..." The sorcerer turns his glare onto Steve who coughs at the intensity of it. "I returned it to _this_ timeline."  
"I've been to Kamar-Taj. I never came across it."  
"That's because Wong has it." Steve points out.  
Stephen's gaze falters. "He never said anything."  
"We wanted to make sure we had a plan that would work."  
The sorcerer was almost afraid to ask. "What plan?"

He could see Peter looking between himself and the captain, and he had a look on his face that said the teen desperately wanted this to be real, but it also felt too good to be true. Stephen pretty much felt the same.

"Scott will take you through the quantum realm after you get the Time Stone from Wong, and to right before Tony snaps."  
"Why not after?" Peter asks.  
Everyone winces before Steve continues. "The snap still needs to happen, you just need to get your AI to send a message to Tony before he does. Tell him to ask for Nat and Loki back as well."  
"What about Tony?" Stephen asks quietly.  
"That's what the stone is for. You'll use it to turn back time on his wounds."  
Stephen sighs heavily. "The damage was done by all six Infinity Stones. It won't help."  
"Wong said it will be enough to get him out of a critical state. He'll have the scars, but he'll be alive."

Stephen's heart pounded in his chest. He never thought of that. It was definitely possible. While the Time Stone wouldn't be able to reverse all the effects caused by all six stones, it would pull him from Death's door. He would likely need to be hospitalized but he would be _alive_. He would have his husband back, and Peter would still have his father.

"How long have you been planning this?"  
"A while." Clint answers. "It hurt us to see you two broken. You guys really suck at functioning when it isn't all three of you."  
"I second that. Tony was a barely functioning pain in the ass when it was the two of you gone." Rhodey says.  
"If this works," The sorcerer starts. "I will owe each of you a favor."  
"Can that favor be collected in kiss form?" Scott jokes.  
"Yes."  
The ex-con's eyes widen and he grins. "If I wasn't excited before, I am now!" Peter gags and Scott rolls his eyes. "Not like that shortstack. What's Mama Bear teaching you?"

His question earned a head smack from both Rhodey and Sam.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINAL CHAPTER!!

Getting Peter to stay behind was a bit of a chore, but it was understandable. There was a chance that Stephen would not come back from the quantum realm and then where would that leave the teen? He was a year shy of being an adult and already he lost five parents. No one should have to go through that. Now his sixth parent was risking time travel to bring back the fifth.

The conflicted look Peter gave Stephen before he left hurt him.

The initial plan had worked though. He and Scott arrived at the battle right before Tony snapped, and the sorcerer had Victor send a message to the billionaire. The man had paused (not like before) before snapping, and Stephen rushed over to him with Scott on his heels and immediately turned back time on his wounds before Rhodey got to them.  They were trying to been seen as little as possible just in case it could cause issues.

He sincerely doubted it though.

Once the Time Stone fixed what it could and just enough color returned to Tony's face, he placed his hand over the arc reactor.

"FRIDAY."  
"Boss needs medical attention."

That was enough. He'd have to leave the rest to his past self. God, seeing Tony like this again was too much but if this worked, it would be well worth it.

"Stephen. We gotta go now. Rhodes is heading over." Scott gently tugs on the sorcerer's shoulder until Tony weakly reaches out and grabs the sorcerer's wrist.  
"Stephen."  
The doctor smiles softly and gently cups his uninjured cheek. "I'll see you soon."

He carefully pulls his arm out of his husband's grip, and backs away, leaving the man confused as Scott grabs Stephen's arm and takes them back through the quantum realm and to their time. If he was correct, and this worked, they would take the place of their alternate selves and gain their memories. He wasn't really looking forward to memories being crammed into his head, even if it was just a few months. He had warned Scott about it ahead of time so he wouldn't panic.

Tony's lab was silent when they got back. No Peter, or Rhodey (who had seen them off), and not Tony. Before he could worry though, the memories assaulted his mind and it took both and Scott a few minutes to recover. It was like watching a really long movie but in fast-forward so one couldn't really grasp what was going on.

Tony was in those memories though.

"Holy crap. That was definitely in my top ten of weird things I've experienced." Scott finally says.  
"Welcome to my world." Stephen replies dully and then with a pounding heart looks up at the ceiling. "FRIDAY...where's Tony?"  
"In the living room with Peter. You just came from there. Are you alright Doctor? Shall I call for Dr. Banner?" The AI asks with worry.

Stephen and Scott look at each other and rush out of the lab and up to the family floor. _Please be real. Please be real,_ the sorcerer repeats in his head as they stumble into the living room after the elevator doors open.

He was there. His right side scarred but he was _there_. He was alive and talking enthusiastically about suit upgrades with Peter, neither noticing the presence of the new pair. Peter very obviously didn't retain any memories of after Tony's death since he didn't make the trip with Stephen and Scott.

"Tony." He finally whispers.  
The engineer looks up and grins. "Hey babe. Did you--" The smile disappears at the look of disbelief on Stephen's face. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" The sorcerer strides into Tony's arms when the mechanic stands up and throws his arms around his husband while nuzzling his neck.

He smelt like motor oil and coffee. He now understood why smells were important to Peter. They were soothing. They smelled like home. Stephen would never take advantage of it again. He didn't realize how much he really missed this.

"Okay...you're okay. _I'm_ okay." Tony must have realized today was when Stephen came back to save him and that he was now dealing with an overwhelmed sorcerer.  
Stephen held back tears. He didn't want to worry Peter anymore than he was already looking. "I've missed you." He whispers.  
"We'll talk later tonight." Tony whispers in return. "You look like you need to sit down."  
"Uh...so why are you in your suit Scott?" Peter asks curiously.

Shit. Stephen almost forgot about him. Poor guy was probably feeling awkward.

"Got bored again. Eventually saw your mom and followed him up here." He deflects easily.  
"Okay." Peter shrugs. Thank whatever powerful deity that was watching that it was actual typical behaviour for the ex-con.  
Stephen carefully moves away from his husband and meets his eyes. "Don't freak out. I'll explain later." He mutters.  
"Freak out about what?"

Stephen ignores Tony's question and turns on his heel to face Scott. In two short steps, when he's nearly chest to chest with the man, he grabs Scott's face and kisses him. Not a simple peck either. A proper one, because this man helped him get his family back together and it was the very least he could do.

Tony and Peter squawk at the scene, and the sorcerer pulls away after a few long seconds to find Scott's pupils blown wide and his body frozen to the spot. Stephen thanks him with a smug smile, and leaves the frozen man behind as he joins Tony and Peter on the couch when the billionaire sits back down. Thankfully, the engineer didn't look offended. Peter on the other hand...

"What the hell?! Are you and Scott having an affair?"  
"No cub. I owed him a favor and that was how he collected."  
"Important enough to kiss him in front of us?" Peter asks skeptically.  
" _Very_ important." Stephen confirms as he looks at Tony.

His lover only smirks in understanding and points at Lang.

"I don't know if you can hear me Stuart Little, but that is never happening again!" Scott didn't respond. "Babe, I think you broke him. Maybe that _should_ happen again."  
"It would lose its effectiveness."  
"Huh...thats true."

 Tony waves his hand in Scott's direction as if brushing off the subject and leans against the arm of the couch. When he motions for Stephen, he didn't waste any time curling against his husband, making sure not to jostle the man's weaker arm too much. He knew his right side was sensitive sometimes but Tony could actually use it, and proved it by wrapping it around the sorcerer. Once Stephen comfortable settles against him, with his face in the man's unscathed collarbone, it was Peter's turn to wiggle into their cuddle. When he was comfortable, Levi flew over and covered the small family.

"So are we just going to ignore the fact that Scott is over there in his own world?" The teen asks and Tony laughs. 

Stephen missed his laugh.

"Let him enjoy the moment. Mom made his day...probably his whole life."  
"You know..." Stephen starts with a smirk. "Considering all the juice he drinks, there wasn't a single hint of it."  
Tony raises an eyebrow. "Normally I would tell you I don't want to hear about it, but now you have me curious."  
"I don't kiss and tell, love."  
"Asshole."

They laid like that for a long time. The tv playing some sort of documentary that only Tony and Peter were half paying attention to, but Stephen was too busy enjoying the closeness of his family. Their smells, their beating hearts...their warmth. He wouldn't mind staying like this forever.

That is, until an important reminder came to him and he lifted his head just enough to look up at Tony.

"Natasha and Loki--"  
"In their rooms. Along with Vision."  
Stephen sighs. "Good."  
The elevator hisses open and Natasha soon appears in the living room pointing her thumb over her shoulder. "What's wrong with Scott?"  
"Mama Bear broke him."  
"How did you manage that?"  
"Kissed him."  
Natasha's eyebrows fly up to her hairline. "FRIDAY, did you record that?"  
"Yes, Miss Romanov."  
"Oh. This I gotta see."

Stephen sighs when the assassin grabs Tony's tablet off the coffee table, and plays back the kiss that happened _an hour ago_ (he was honestly surprised Scott hasn't moved yet), and catches Tony watching it as well.

"Now that I'm over the initial shock...that's actually kind of hot Mama Bear." 

Both Peter and Stephen groan and Scott finally comes out of his happy stupor just in time to catch the last bit of the recording.

"That actually happened? I thought I dreamt that up. Damn that was amazing."  
"You were standing there for over an hour in happy shock so I would hope so." Stephen teases.  
"Well that's embarrassing. I didn't start drooling did I?" Scott asks as he wipes his mouth.  
Tony sniggers. "Not yet."  
"Can you send that recording to me?"  
"Not a chance Thumbelina. I don't want you getting--"  
"Man, your wife just kissed me. I can use my imagination." Scott argues.  
"He has a point." Stephen mutters and Tony rolls his eyes.  
"Fine. FRIDAY go ahead and send that to Scott."  
Natasha grins wickedly. "Send it to the whole team."  
Tony scowls. "If everyone starts trying to kissy with Stephen, I blame you."  
"No one but you and Scott want that, and Baby Spider already gets the cuddles." Natasha points out with a roll of her eyes.  
"Damn right." Peter mumbles. " _My_ mom."

It didn't take long for Tony's and Stephen's phones to blow up from messages from the team. They all mostly consisted of confused questions or something of the like, and the sorcerer simply texted them all saying that Scott did him a very special kindness and it was just a thank you for it. He also heavily implied that it would _not_ happen again. Their phones didn't go off again but Scott's did. They both decided they didn't want to know.

Peter chose to just ignore it all and wait for everyone to calm down. Brilliant move on his part. He just pressed closer to his parents and enjoyed their presence. Both adults smile and both wrap an arm around the teen, making Levi adjust itself over them.

"Never let me choose a stone over the two of you again." Stephen whispers. "Biggest mistake of my life."  
Natasha, overhearing the sorcerer, actually smiles and leans down to kiss his temple. "Thank you by the way."

_Thank you for bringing us home._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is that happy enough for you guys? If you've read this to the end, thanks for sticking through it. I'm sure it was hard for some of you.
> 
> I also apologize that this story was a little rushed.


End file.
